1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to coaxial cable end connectors having nut members adapted to be threaded onto equipment ports or the like, and is concerned in particular with an improved sealing arrangement for preventing moisture from penetrating between the coactively engaged threads of such components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is generally cognizant of various sealing arrangements for use between the male threads of equipment ports and the female threads of cable end connectors. For example, it is known to apply liquid or strand-like sealing materials to one or both of the male and female threads as a preliminary step in the interengagement process. In such cases, the integrity of the resulting seal is largely dependent upon the care with which the sealing material is applied. Thus, when cable installers and maintenance personnel are called upon to work under stressful or adverse climatic conditions, proper application of sealing materials is often neglected, resulting in leakage related problems.
Various so-called "self-sealing" nuts have been developed, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,004,626 (Biblin et al); 4,126,170 (DeHaitre); and 4,707,047 (Michaels et al). These rely on the compression of a sealing material located adjacent to but outside of either the entry end or the exit end of the female thread, and require adequate tightening of the nut to achieve optimum sealing. Such self-sealing nuts may not be tightened sufficiently during initial engagement, or they may subsequently loosen, the result again being an inadequate seal.
It is also known to apply rubber-like sleeves to the male threads of the equipment ports prior to engagement of the connector nuts. Here again, sealing integrity can be compromised by a failure on the part of the installer to fully tighten the nut.
Accordingly, a need exists for a coaxial cable end connector having a nut member with a sealing arrangement which addresses and either obviates or at the least substantially minimizes the above-noted shortcomings of the prior art.
A primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a coaxial cable end connector having a rotatable nut member with an integrally associated internal sealing element configured and dimensioned to be readily deformed into a tightly sealed relationship between the internal thread of the nut member and the external thread of a port or other like system component onto which the nut is threaded.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a seal which provides reliable moisture-tight integrity irrespective of the extent to which the nut member is initially tightened.
A companion objective of the present invention is the provision of a seal which retains its moisture-tight integrity in the event that the nut member subsequently loosens.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved seal which is factory-installed as an integral part of the nut member, thus obviating the drawbacks associated with prior art seals requiring careful application of a sealing material as a preliminary step to installation of the cable end connector.